Challenging Eversource's new solar fees

February 6, 2018

Last month, our friends at Vote Solar announced that it will challenge the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities’ (DPU) recent decision to raise rates and create uncertainty for future solar customers in the Eversource utility territory. The non-profit advocate, represented by Earthjustice, is appealing a January 5th DPU order that forces residential solar customers to pay additional charges, which could range anywhere from $4,400 to $9,400 over the life of the solar system, depending on the customer. This outcome was not justified by evidence in the rate case and will have a harmful impact on Massachusetts energy customers and its local solar industry alike.

“The Commission’s decision to effectively hike rates for future solar customers is wildly out of step with Massachusetts’s commitment to clean energy and climate leadership and the DPU’s own record of ensuring that solar customers are fairly compensated for the valuable local power they generate,” said Nathan Phelps, Program Manager for Vote Solar and expert witness in the case. “We are committed to reversing this decision and ensuring that the Commonwealth can continue building its clean energy economy, creating jobs, and fighting climate change.”

The Commission’s decision will set back Governor Charlie Baker’s commitment to lead on climate change in the absence of federal leadership. It also compromises the state’s clean energy economy, which today employs more than 100,000 people and has driven $11.4 billion in investments in the sector.

“This decision departs from the Department’s own precedent, is not supported by the evidence in the record before the Commission, and is counterproductive to the state’s own energy policies. We will ask the Supreme Judicial Court to get right what the Commission got wrong,” said Earthjustice attorney Hannah Chang.

Under the Eversource proposal approved by the Commission, solar customers in the state’s largest utility service area will be forced onto demand charges, a rate structure that is virtually unheard of for residential customers. These notoriously unpredictable charges are determined by a customer’s highest electricity usage over an entire monthly billing period, even if that peak is just for a few minutes. This means that an unlucky coincidence of events – an air conditioner automatically cycling at the same time that bread is in the toaster – can result in an unexpected bill increase for customers. In 2017, Vote Solar and five other leading regulatory experts released a report, titled “Charge without a Cause,” demonstrating that demand charges are both unfair to customers and are an ineffective mechanism for utility cost recovery.

Vote Solar’s petition of appeal will be filed in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by early February.